Last reviewed: October 2026
TL;DR — Key Takeaways
- The Davis-Stirling Act governs California community apartment projects, condominium projects, planned developments and stock cooperatives, and the law prevails over an HOA’s conflicting governing documents.
- The declaration prevails over the other governing documents, and an operating rule is enforceable only if it meets the Act’s conditions, including being written and reasonable.
- The board may not act outside a meeting or meet by email, except for emergency meetings with every director’s written consent and votes to start repairs restoring interrupted utilities.
- A board generally needs member approval to raise regular assessments more than 20 percent, or to impose special assessments totaling over 5 percent of budgeted gross expenses.
- A fine generally may not exceed $100 per violation, and the member gets written notice at least 10 days before the board meeting that considers discipline.
- For assessment debts arising on or after January 1, 2006, an association generally may not foreclose until delinquent assessments reach $1,800 or are more than 12 months delinquent.
The Davis-Stirling Act is California’s law for homeowners associations in condominium projects, planned developments, community apartment projects and stock cooperatives. It puts the law above the HOA’s own documents. It requires the board to act at meetings rather than by email, and it requires secret-ballot elections. It limits assessment increases and fines. It also sets a sequence of notices, board votes and dispute-resolution offers before an association records a lien or forecloses.
What the Davis-Stirling Act is and when it applies
This part of California’s Civil Code is known, and may be cited, as the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act. Its provisions may refer to it simply as the act.
The Act governs common interest developments and the associations that manage them. A common interest development is a community apartment project, a condominium project, a planned development or a stock cooperative. An association is a nonprofit corporation or unincorporated association created to manage a common interest development. It is what most owners call the HOA.
The Act does not reach a project just because it looks like a condominium. It applies, and a common interest development exists, once a separate interest coupled with an interest in the common area or membership in the association has been conveyed, provided three things are recorded:
- a declaration;
- a condominium plan if one exists; and
- a final map or parcel map where state subdivision law requires one for the development.
Boards that want their practices measured against these rules can read about that work on our Davis-Stirling Act compliance page.
The governing documents, and which one wins
The governing documents are the declaration and any other documents, such as bylaws, operating rules, articles of incorporation or articles of association, that govern the development or the association. The declaration is the recorded document many owners know as the CC&Rs.
Where the governing documents conflict with the law, the law prevails. Among the documents themselves, the declaration prevails over the articles of incorporation; the articles or the declaration prevail over the bylaws; and the bylaws, articles or declaration prevail over the operating rules.
So the CC&Rs are not the top of the hierarchy. A declaration provision that conflicts with the Act gives way to the Act, just as an operating rule that conflicts with the bylaws, the articles or the declaration gives way to them.
Records requests have their own rules, which our guide to how an HOA records request works in California sets out.
Operating rules: when a rule is enforceable
Much of daily life in an HOA runs on operating rules the board adopts. An operating rule is valid and enforceable only if:
- it is in writing;
- it is within the board’s authority under the law or the declaration, articles of incorporation or association, or bylaws;
- it does not conflict with governing law or with the declaration, articles or bylaws;
- it is adopted in good faith and in substantial compliance with the Act’s rule-making requirements; and
- it is reasonable.
Those conditions also mark what a board cannot do by rule. It cannot act outside the authority the law and the governing documents give it. It cannot override the declaration, the articles or the bylaws. Nor can it enforce an unwritten practice as if it were a rule.
If you want to know how this applies to your own situation, call Bay Legal at (650) 668-8000 in Northern California or (213) 668-8000 in Southern California, or reach us through baylegal.com/contact-us.
Board meetings, notice and email
The association must give notice of the time and place of a board meeting, with the agenda, at least four days before the meeting. For a nonemergency meeting held solely in executive session, the notice must be given at least two days before the meeting. An emergency meeting needs no notice. Where the governing documents require a longer notice period, the association follows it. That provision does not apply to an emergency meeting or a meeting held solely in executive session unless it says so.
The board may not take action on any item of business outside a board meeting. It also may not conduct a meeting by a series of electronic transmissions, such as email, except an emergency meeting to which every director consents in writing. The consents are filed with the minutes of the meeting. Those written consents may themselves be sent electronically.
A second exception covers utility outages. Despite that general rule, when directors must vote to start the repairs or replacements the association is responsible for to restore interrupted gas, heat, water or electrical service, they may vote by electronic means, including email.
Outside those situations, directors who agree in an email thread have not taken board action.
How directors are elected
Whatever the governing documents say, these elections must be held by secret ballot under the Act’s election procedures:
- elections on assessments that legally require a vote;
- the election and removal of directors;
- amendments to the governing documents; and
- grants of exclusive use of common area.
An association must hold an election for a board seat when the director’s term ends, and at least once every four years. The Act does not by itself require an election every year.
Suppose any candidate or member advocating a point of view is given access to association media, newsletters or websites during a campaign, for purposes reasonably related to the election. In that case, the election rules must ensure that all candidates and members advocating a point of view, including those not endorsed by the board, get equal access for those purposes. The rules must also ensure that the association does not edit or redact their content. The association may include a statement that the candidate or member, and not the association, is responsible for that content.
The election rules must also ensure that all candidates, including those who are not incumbents, and all members advocating a point of view, including those not endorsed by the board, get access to common-area meeting space during a campaign. That access is at no cost, applies if any such space exists, and is for purposes reasonably related to the election.
The rules must also specify the qualifications for candidates for the board and any other elected position, subject to the Act’s disqualification rules. They must also specify the procedures for nominating candidates, consistent with the governing documents. A nomination or election procedure that does not allow a member to nominate themself for election to the board is not reasonable.
Assessments and the limits on increases
Whether a board can raise regular assessments without a member vote depends on the annual budget report. Outside the emergency situations in section 5610, a board that has met the budget report requirements section 5605 lists (paragraphs (1), (2) and (4) to (8) of section 5300(b)) may raise the regular assessment by up to 20 percent over the prior fiscal year without member approval; a board that has not met them may not raise it by any amount without the approval of a majority of a quorum of members. An increase imposed without either is void, even where the governing documents would allow it (Ruffier v. Volcano Hills Road Maintenance Assn. (2025) 117 Cal.App.5th 899). In an association whose original declaration was recorded on or after January 1, 2025, a lower cap applies to the owner of a deed-restricted affordable housing unit: 5 percent plus the change in the cost of living, and no more than 10 percent, though that cap does not apply in some developments, including those of 20 units or fewer.
Without the approval of a majority of a quorum of members, the board may not impose special assessments that together exceed 5 percent of the association’s budgeted gross expenses for that fiscal year. This limit applies notwithstanding more restrictive limits in the governing documents.
Neither limit caps assessment increases needed for an emergency situation, which the Act defines as one of three things:
- an extraordinary expense required by a court order;
- an extraordinary expense to operate, repair or maintain any part of the development the association is responsible for, where a threat to personal health or safety or another hazardous condition on the property is discovered; or
- an extraordinary expense to repair or maintain any part the association is responsible for that the board could not reasonably have foreseen in preparing and distributing the annual budget report.
For that third kind, the board must first pass a resolution with written findings on why the expense is necessary and why it was not or could not have been reasonably foreseen. The board must also distribute that resolution to the members with the notice of assessment.
Our post on how an HOA special assessment works in California covers special assessments in more detail.
Late payment, late charges and the lien
An assessment, together with any late charges, reasonable fees and costs of collection, reasonable attorney’s fees and interest, is a debt of the owner of the separate interest at the time it is levied.
An assessment becomes delinquent 15 days after it is due, unless the declaration provides a longer period. Once it is delinquent, the association may recover:
- its reasonable costs of collection, including reasonable attorney’s fees;
- a late charge of up to 10 percent of the delinquent assessment or $10, whichever is greater, unless the declaration sets a smaller late charge; and
- interest of up to 12 percent a year, starting 30 days after the assessment is due, unless the declaration sets a lesser rate.
At least 30 days before recording a lien on the owner’s separate interest to collect a past-due assessment debt, the association must notify the owner of record in writing, by certified mail, of:
- a general description of its collection and lien enforcement procedures and how the amount was calculated;
- a statement that the owner has the right to inspect the association’s records;
- a warning, in 14-point boldface type if printed or in capital letters if typed, that a separate interest placed in foreclosure for unpaid assessments may be sold without court action;
- an itemized statement of the charges owed, showing any delinquent assessments, fees and reasonable costs of collection, reasonable attorney’s fees, late charges and interest;
- a statement that the owner is not liable for the charges, interest and costs of collection if the assessment is found to have been paid on time;
- the owner’s right to request a meeting with the board;
- the right to dispute the debt by a written request for dispute resolution under the association’s meet-and-confer program; and
- the right to request alternative dispute resolution with a neutral third party before the association may start a foreclosure, except that binding arbitration is not available if the association intends a judicial foreclosure.
Only the board may decide to record a lien for delinquent assessments. It decides by a majority vote of the directors in an open meeting, with the vote recorded in the minutes of that meeting. The board may not delegate that decision to an agent of the association, such as a manager.
The lien arises when the association records a notice of delinquent assessment with the county recorder. The notice states the amount of the assessment and other sums owed, a legal description of the separate interest and the name of the record owner. The itemized statement of charges is recorded together with it. From then on, the assessment, costs of collection, late charges and interest are a lien on the owner’s separate interest.
Foreclosure for unpaid assessments
The foreclosure floor, the dispute-resolution offer before foreclosure and the right of redemption described in this section apply to debts for assessments that arise on or after January 1, 2006.
For those debts, an association may not use judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure to collect delinquent regular or special assessments of less than $1,800, not counting accelerated assessments, late charges, fees and costs of collection, attorney’s fees or interest. The association may still try to collect or secure the debt in the other ways the Act allows, such as a small claims action or a lien.
An association may record a lien for that debt, but may not foreclose on the lien until the delinquent assessments it secures reach $1,800 or are more than 12 months delinquent. That amount excludes accelerated assessments, late charges, fees and costs of collection, attorney’s fees and interest. Before recording such a lien, the association must offer the owner dispute resolution under its meet-and-confer program and take part if the owner asks.
This floor does not apply to:
- assessments secured by a lien that are more than 12 months delinquent;
- assessments owed by owners of time-share estates; or
- assessments owed by the developer.
Before starting a foreclosure on an owner’s separate interest, the association must offer the owner dispute resolution through its meet-and-confer program or alternative dispute resolution, and take part if the owner asks. The owner chooses whether to pursue it and which type, except that binding arbitration is not available if the association intends a judicial foreclosure.
The decision to foreclose a validly recorded assessment lien is made only by the board, which may not delegate it to an agent of the association. The board decides by a majority vote of the directors in executive session. The vote is recorded in the minutes of the next board meeting open to all members, by the parcel number of the property rather than the owner’s name. That vote must take place at least 30 days before any public sale.
If the board votes to foreclose, it must give notice to an owner who occupies the separate interest, or to the owner’s legal representative, by personal service in the manner used to serve a summons. It must give written notice to an owner who does not occupy the separate interest by first-class mail, postage prepaid, at the most current address on the association’s books. Absent written notification from the owner to the association, the address of the separate interest may be treated as the owner’s mailing address.
A nonjudicial foreclosure by an association is subject to a right of redemption that ends 90 days after the sale, and the notice of sale must state that the property is being sold subject to that right.
If you are getting ready for this step, we can help you check the papers and the timing first. Call (650) 668-8000 in Northern California or (213) 668-8000 in Southern California, or use baylegal.com/contact-us.
Fines, discipline and the hearing
An association that fines members for violations of the governing documents, including fines relating to the activities of a guest or tenant, must adopt a schedule of monetary penalties. The schedule must be in line with the authority for member discipline in the governing documents. The association must distribute it to each member in the annual policy statement and keep the penalties reasonable.
A fine for a violation of the governing documents may not exceed the lesser of the amount in the schedule or supplement in effect at the time of the violation and $100 per violation. This limit does not apply where the violation may cause the adverse health or safety impact described next.
The board may impose a scheduled penalty above $100 per violation only if the violation may result in an adverse health or safety impact on the common area or another member’s property. Even then, it may do so only after making a written finding specifying that impact at a board meeting open to the members.
No late charge or interest may be charged on a fine. The association must give any member who asks a copy of the most recently distributed penalty schedule and any supplements to it.
The fines section was last amended by a 2025 law (AB 130), effective June 30, 2025. Our post on HOA fines in California after AB 130 covers contested fines in more detail.
When the board is to meet to consider or impose discipline on a member, it must notify the member in writing, by personal delivery or individual delivery, at least 10 days before the meeting. The same applies when it is to meet to impose a monetary charge to reimburse the association for repairing damage to the common area and facilities caused by a member or the member’s guest or tenant. The notice must state at minimum:
- the date, time and place of the meeting;
- the nature of the alleged violation or of the damage; and
- that the member has a right to attend and may address the board.
The board meets in executive session if the member asks.
A repair charge of that kind is separate from a fine, and the same notice and meeting apply to both.
The member may cure the violation before the meeting. The board may not impose discipline if the member cures the violation or, where a cure would take longer than the time between the notice and the meeting, gives a financial commitment to cure. If the board and the member do not agree after the meeting, the member may request internal dispute resolution. The board must notify the member in writing of any discipline within 14 days of the action. Discipline does not take effect against the member unless the board meets these requirements.
Alternative dispute resolution before a lawsuit
Neither the association nor a member may file an enforcement action in superior court without first trying to submit the dispute to alternative dispute resolution. This rule applies where the action seeks only declaratory, injunctive or writ relief, alone or with damages within the small claims limits. It does not apply to a small claims action or, unless another law provides otherwise, to an assessment dispute. A party may file the action without first trying alternative dispute resolution when it files a certificate that preliminary or temporary injunctive relief is necessary.
Because the rule binds both sides, an owner contesting a rule and a board enforcing one often face the same first step.
If you are deciding what to do next, we would rather talk it through early than after the fact. Call Bay Legal at (650) 668-8000 in Northern California or (213) 668-8000 in Southern California, or reach us through baylegal.com/contact-us.
When the Act does not help you
The Act governs how an association decides, and it often leaves what the association decides to the governing documents and the board. If the board gave the notices, voted at a meeting and followed its documents, the Act may give you no way to undo a decision you disagree with. Its limits also carry their own exceptions, such as an emergency increase or a scheduled fine above $100 backed by a written health-or-safety finding. Two related questions have their own posts. A claim against directors is covered in our post on HOA board breach of fiduciary duty in California. Whether it is possible to leave an HOA is answered separately. Balcony inspections are outside this post. When we review a dispute under the Act, we look first at the record the board actually created. That is because many of the Act’s protections turn on a notice, a vote or a minute entry that either exists or does not.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Davis-Stirling Act?
It is the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, the part of California’s Civil Code that governs common interest developments: community apartment projects, condominium projects, planned developments and stock cooperatives. It applies once a separate interest coupled with an interest in the common area or membership in the association has been conveyed and the declaration, any condominium plan and any required final or parcel map are recorded. Where an association’s governing documents conflict with the law, the law prevails.
Can an HOA board make decisions by email?
Generally not. The board may not take action on any item of business outside a board meeting, and it may not hold a meeting by a series of emails or other electronic transmissions. Two exceptions apply. The first is an emergency meeting to which every director consents in writing, with the consents filed with the minutes. The second is a vote to start the repairs or replacements that restore interrupted gas, heat, water or electrical service the association is responsible for.
How much can my HOA raise assessments without a member vote?
Outside the emergency situations the Act defines, a board that has met the annual budget report requirements may raise the regular assessment by up to 20 percent over the prior fiscal year without member approval. Outside those situations, a board that has not met them may not raise it by any amount without the approval of a majority of a quorum of members. An increase imposed without either is void, even where the governing documents would allow it. Outside those emergency situations, special assessments that together exceed 5 percent of the year’s budgeted gross expenses also need the approval of a majority of a quorum of members.
Can my HOA foreclose on my home for unpaid assessments?
For assessment debts arising on or after January 1, 2006, not until the delinquent assessments reach $1,800 or are more than 12 months delinquent, apart from time-share and developer assessments. That amount excludes accelerated assessments, late charges, fees and costs of collection, attorney’s fees and interest. Before a foreclosure starts, the board must approve it by a majority vote in executive session. It may not delegate that decision to an agent such as a manager. The association must also offer you dispute resolution. A nonjudicial foreclosure sale is subject to a right of redemption that ends 90 days after the sale.
Is there a limit on HOA fines in California?
Yes. A fine for a violation of the governing documents may not exceed the lesser of the amount in the schedule in effect at the time of the violation and $100 per violation. A scheduled penalty above $100 is allowed only where the violation may cause an adverse health or safety impact on the common area or another member’s property, after a written finding at an open board meeting. Before imposing discipline, the board must give you written notice at least 10 days before the meeting at which it will consider it. No late charge or interest may be charged on a fine.
Legal References
- Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, Cal. Civ. Code § 4000 (name of the Act)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 4080 (definition of association)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 4100 (definition of common interest development)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 4150 (definition of governing documents)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 4200 (when the Act applies)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 4205 (conflicts between the law and the governing documents, and among the documents)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 4350 (validity of operating rules)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 4775 (electronic vote to start utility-restoring repairs)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 4910 (no action outside a board meeting; no meeting by electronic transmission)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 4920 (notice of board meetings)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 5100 (secret ballot elections; election at least every four years)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 5105 (election rules)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 5605 (limits on assessment increases)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 5610 (emergency situations)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 5650 (assessment debt, delinquency, late charges and interest)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 5660 (notice before recording a lien)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 5673 (board decision to record a lien)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 5675 (notice of delinquent assessment and lien)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 5705 (dispute resolution, board vote and notice before foreclosure)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 5715 (right of redemption after nonjudicial foreclosure)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 5720 (limit on foreclosure for amounts under $1,800)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 5850 (schedule of monetary penalties and limits on fines)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 5855 (notice and hearing before discipline or a repair charge)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 5930 (alternative dispute resolution before an enforcement action)
- AB 130 (2025-2026), Stats. 2025, ch. 22, § 3; Cal. Civ. Code § 5850
- Ruffier v. Volcano Hills Road Maintenance Assn. (2025) 117 Cal.App.5th 899
